Referee carted off field with injury as Texans’ defense roughs up Buffalo Bills to give Houston big upset win

By Patrick Sung, Jill Martin, CNN

(CNN) — Thursday night’s NFL game between the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills was a rough and tumble affair, featuring injuries aplenty – including to one of the officials.

Referee Adrian Hill had to be carted off the field following a non-contact injury in the third quarter of the Texans’ 23-19 win at NRG Stadium. Hill came up limping after a play and the game was stopped as medical staff looked him over before it was decided he would leave the contest.

The referee, who was leading the officiating crew on the night, was replaced by umpire Roy Ellison, eliminating the umpire position for the remainder of the game.

The rest of the evening was no less bruising, as the Texans’ vaunted defense – entering Thursday night No. 1 in scoring defense and total defense – lived up to its reputation by battering Bills QB Josh Allen and the rest of the Buffalo offense throughout the contest.

Allen – who was coming off an incredible six-touchdown performance on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – had a rough night, completing 24-of-34 passes for 253 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns and also being sacked a career-worst eight times.

Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said, “Credit goes to, first and foremost, our defensive line. For the way they go out, the way those guys relentlessly rush the passer and everybody on the back end is playing sound and playing together.

“When we do that, we’re tough to move the ball against, so our players are doing an outstanding job.”

Texans safety Calen Bullock was the standout player on the night, forcing three turnovers – two picks and a forced fumble – including the game-sealing interception with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Explosive first half

The game started well for the Bills, with Buffalo taking an early 6-0 lead after James Cook cut through the middle of the Texans defense for an incredible 45-yard touchdown run.

The teams exchanged field goals before Houston – which was playing without starting quarterback CJ Stroud for the third straight game due to concussion protocol – got a boost from its backup signal-calle. Davis Mills threw a short, two-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Christian Kirk to put the Texans up 10-9 after the extra point.

Bullock then nabbed his first interception of the evening, running it back for an apparent touchdown, only for a flag to have been thrown on the play on defensive end Danielle Hunter for blocking in the back. Houston ultimately settled for another field goal to extend the lead, but Buffalo hit right back off an explosive special teams play.

Ray Davis caught the ensuing kickoff, clanging off a teammate and rolling to one side, before returning it 97 yards and front flipping into the end zone to put the Bills back on top with 1:43 left in the half.

The fireworks weren’t done yet in the Lone Star State as the Texans ran a two-minute drill to perfection, with Mills throwing his second touchdown of the day to Jayden Higgins to cap off a six-play, 75-yard drive to put Houston up 20-16 at the half.

Crunchtime heroics

The third quarter began slowly with neither team doing much before Bullock came up big again. The Houston safety forced a fumble from Bills wideout Khalil Shakir after he made a catch with 4:15 left in the quarter, leading to yet another field goal from Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn to make it 23-16 in favor of the home team.

The Bills cut the lead to four after getting a field goal with 5:44 left in the game, and then came crunchtime.

With 49 seconds left, Allen threw a pass on fourth-and-27 to Josh Palmer who then lateraled it to Shakir to convert and get the Bills dangerously close to the red zone and make the Texans faithful begin to worry.

After a nine-yard run sandwiched between two incompletions, Buffalo was facing another fourth down with the game on the line and Allen lined up in a shotgun formation. The defending league MVP dropped back and threw off his back foot, but the ball was intercepted by Houston hero Bullock, who sealed the contest with his pick.

Afterwards, Texans coach Ryans expressed his relief at how the game ended, praising Bullock for his heroics: “Calen went out and intercepted the ball two times, forcing a fumble to get us in plus territory there.

“A lot of emotions going on on the sideline through that entire (final) drive, but for Calen to come down with that interception was my favorite play – because it meant it was over.”

“A dream come true showing up on a stage like Thursday night. We are the only team on, everybody watching, the whole world watching, so a dream come true,” Bullock – who received the game ball for his performance – told ESPN.

With the win, Houston moves to 6-5 on the season, third in the AFC South, while the Bills drop to 7-4 and second in the AFC East, where they are in danger of falling out of reach of the surprising New England Patriots.

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